Those who know me would be aware of the fact that I do not celebrate Christmas. However, as a follower of Jesus, I do not hesitate to make the most of every opportunity to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Over the month of December, there were many opportunities to share God's love and plan of salvation with many who do not regularly hear about Him.
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| Dramatising the birth of Christ |
The first activity was the Closing Program for the children who attend the weekly Bible Club in our community. For this term, we examined the life of Paul and the lessons centered around how a life can be totally transformed when it is surrendered to God. Each class depicted what they learnt through songs or drama. We also used the opportunity to share about the importance of Jesus coming to earth to bring salvation to all. Many parents who had never before attended a closing program were there to hear these life changing messages, and the children were also challenged to allow the Holy Spirit to transform their lives so they could live pleasing to God.
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| Receiving additional presents |
The week after our Bible Club Closing Program, we were contacted by a charity which had gift bags that they were willing to donate to children for Christmas. Since our children had already received tokens the week before, they were very surprised when we showed up at their homes with gift bags filled with snacks, coloring books, reading books or activity books for the older ones. They were truly blessed to have benefited from the generosity that is prevalent at this time of year.
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| Toys for children who had not received any before |
This same charity was also responsible for donating fifty snack bags and toys which were distributed to children in Palo Seco through Is There Not A Cause (ITNAC), which has been working consistently in that community for the past couple of years. Fifty families benefited from food hampers, and over one hundred children received toys.
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| One of the children with her gift |
The turnout was huge, and we used the opportunity to share with the residents the reason why Jesus had to come to earth. The message was clear that, without Jesus' coming, there was no way we could escape the penalty of sin, which was eternal separation from God. The residents had the opportunity to pray to God for forgiveness of their sins, and to invite the Holy Spirit to take control of their lives.
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| Resident thanking ITNAC for our investment in their community |
One local church decided to take advantage of the Christmas break to offer training for their Sunday School teachers. I was invited to conduct a session entitled, "Why Teach Sunday School". We examined the importance of children in God's eyes, and the consequences of our not teaching them biblical principles while they were young.
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Sunday School teachers participating in session
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On Christmas morning, a crew of ITNAC volunteers gathered to package breakfast boxes for families which we were going to visit. We then loaded up the maxi with hampers, toys and breakfast boxes and visited families in San Fernando, La Horquetta, Maloney and Morvant. At each home, we were able to pray and encourage the family members, in addition to putting smiles on their faces with the items which our supporters freely gave.
Matthew 25:40 - The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
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